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Audit: NYC's New 911 System Over Budget, Behind Schedule

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) - Oversight over outside companies working on New York City's 911 system upgrade and City Hall failures to bring together arguing city agencies are catching blame in a new report from city comptroller John Liu.

WCBS 880's Paul Murnane On The Story

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The project is over budget and behind schedule.

It has gone from an estimated $1.3 billion, to now an estimated $2.3 billion. It was scheduled for completion in 2008, but is now not expected to be done until 2015.

1010 WINS' Stan Brooks reports

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"It doesn't seem like anybody in the city was minding the store," said Liu. "It really speaks to the need for contract reform, especially with outside consultants."

"It appears to be a story of failure to actually provide the kind of management guidance and oversight that a huge project of this sort needs," Susan Lerner, executive director of Common Cause New York, told WCBS 880 reporter Paul Murnane on Wednesday. "Real management skill is picking wich are the appropriate instances where independent contractors should be used."

She supports City Council efforts to rein in the use of outside companies.

"There has to be a cost/benefit analysis," she said.

Part of the new 911 system is already up and running and the city, for its part, says the audit validates decisions that were made on issues that were clear long ago.

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